Absurdly, stupidly basic cooking questions (Part 2)

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, Sdogg said:

Realistically is there any way to preserve sushi after buying it from the store and opening the cover? 

I've kept it in the fridge before, but the avocado browns and rice looks stale the next day.

 

No, there isn't.

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Sdogg said:

Realistically is there any way to preserve sushi after buying it from the store and opening the cover? 

I've kept it in the fridge before, but the avocado browns and rice looks stale the next day.

 

No way! The whole point is freshness.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Katie Meadow]

Are we talking about raw fish? Day old sushi, if it's vegetarian, will look dreary and will have lost flavor and texture., but isn't likely to hurt you. If you wish to keep raw fish overnight I would say....don't.

[TdeV]

Another crazy question:

 

As you probably know by now, I hate throwing things away which might have some good left in them.

 

Rooting through the fridge for items to add to stock pot, some old fennel root was discovered. Part of some of the fronds had blackened which were tediously removed. The edges of leaves of the bulb had discoloured, so were sliced off. This removal was quite time consuming. The remainder was bright green and white, and was added to old carrots, with water and ham hocks for an overnight slow cook.

 

I'm wondering if the careful removal of brownish bits was necessary. The liquid in the slow cooker is just shy of 200°F (3 hours in), so I don't think it could have become dangerous. Or could it? Had I left those black/brown bits of fennel attached, would it have add a bad flavour?

 

 

[pastrygirl]

58 minutes ago, TdeV said:

Had I left those black/brown bits of fennel attached, would it have add a bad flavour?

 

Probably.  We're talking black from decay, right?

[Alex]

11 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

Probably

 

I agree. I suppose you could have tasted some of the bits before deciding what to do with them. However, if the thought of doing that induces even a moment's hesitation, then definitely ditch them.

[ElsieD]

I have something called Caviar de Vanille that I want to use in lieu of vanilla bean paste.  Does anyone know the substitution ratio?  I tried to find it on-line but had no luck.

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Does anyone know the substitution ratio? 

 

No, but if 'caviar' is 100% seeds and 'paste' is seeds diluted with syrup, my guess is try half the amount of vanilla bean paste called for. 

Edited September 11, 2023 by pastrygirl (log)

[ElsieD]

28 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

No, but if 'caviar' is 100% seeds and 'paste' is seeds diluted with syrup, my guess is try half the amount of vanilla bean paste called for. 

 

Thank you.  My understanding is that my little pot contains only the seeds and paste of the vanilla bean.  There is no liquid in the little pot.

[Darienne]

I've just made a granola recipe and find the result far too sweet for my taste.  (Ed likes it...but then...Ed likes Butter Tarts and I can't stand them.) 

 

However, the sugar ingredient in this recipe is maple syrup...1/2 cup..and it is part of the non-dry components which hold the recipe together.  Peanut or other nut butter is the other non-dry ingredient.

 

If I cut down on the syrup, the recipe won't hold together.  Suggestions please.  

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Darienne said:

I've just made a granola recipe and find the result far too sweet for my taste.  (Ed likes it...but then...Ed likes Butter Tarts and I can't stand them.) 

 

However, the sugar ingredient in this recipe is maple syrup...1/2 cup..and it is part of the non-dry components which hold the recipe together.  Peanut or other nut butter is the other non-dry ingredient.

 

If I cut down on the syrup, the recipe won't hold together.  Suggestions please.  

Add salt?

[Darienne]

29 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Add salt?

Salt usually intensifies the sugar content I have read.  I want to substitute something for the amount of sugar which is needed as a liquid binder.

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, Darienne said:

Suggestions please.  

Could you possibly use honey in the recipe? If maple flavor is what you are going for, you could then use a little bit of maple extract. I've used some Maple extracts that are pretty good.

[haresfur]

4 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Salt usually intensifies the sugar content I have read.  I want to substitute something for the amount of sugar which is needed as a liquid binder.

 

You could just cut down on the syrup and add more peanut butter and of course use an unsweetened peanut butter.

[weinoo]

Is there another way to add an acidic component?

[Darienne]

Just now, haresfur said:

 

You could just cut down on the syrup and add more peanut butter and of course use an unsweetened peanut butter.

I do use an unsweetened peanut butter and I could try that solution...but...  OK.  If nothing else turns up, I'll just do that.  

 

[Darienne]

Just now, weinoo said:

Is there another way to add an acidic component?

My problem is that I just don't really know enough about cooking to answer that one...which is why I am asking in this 'absurdly  stupid' topic.    I am older than dirt, but I only started 'cooking' just over a decade ago and still don't know enough so that I could answer my own question in this case.

[Tropicalsenior]

13 minutes ago, Darienne said:

one...which is why I am asking in this 'absurdly  stupid' topic.

In cooking there is really no such thing as a stupid question. If you don't know you don't know and the wonderful thing about this group is that somebody is bound to know. By the way, I just asked Google which is sweeter, honey or maple syrup. I was informed that honey is much sweeter than maple syrup so you can forget my stupid answer.

[blue_dolphin]

2 hours ago, Darienne said:

I've just made a granola recipe and find the result far too sweet for my taste.  (Ed likes it...but then...Ed likes Butter Tarts and I can't stand them.) 

 

However, the sugar ingredient in this recipe is maple syrup...1/2 cup..and it is part of the non-dry components which hold the recipe together.  Peanut or other nut butter is the other non-dry ingredient.

 

If I cut down on the syrup, the recipe won't hold together.  Suggestions please.  

 

Some granola recipes use egg white to help bind the bits together.  Or a couple of tablespoons of ground flaxseeds mixed with the same amount of water to make a slurry.  

You could try subbing one of those for part of your maple syrup. 

[Tropicalsenior]

I just found an interesting article on molasses. It is not as sweet as maple syrup and it is thicker so maybe you could use less molasses as a binder then you would need for maple syrup. That way you could cut sweetness two ways.

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, Darienne said:

If I cut down on the syrup, the recipe won't hold together. 

 

How important is 'holding together'?  Do you need big clusters or would you be happy with loose but appropriately sweetened oats?

[Darienne]

12 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

How important is 'holding together'?  Do you need big clusters or would you be happy with loose but appropriately sweetened oats?

Importance?  Very.  In this case, it's Granola bars that you can pick up and eat.   That's the problem.

[Katie Meadow]

11 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

How important is 'h olding together'?  Do you need big clusters or would you be happy with loose but appropriately sweetened oats?

Does clumpy granola always depend on more more sweet syrup? I make granola that is not clumpy and it is not very sweet.

[pastrygirl]

16 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Importance?  Very.  In this case, it's Granola bars that you can pick up and eat.   That's the problem.

 

in that case, I second Blue Dolphin's suggestion of egg white

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

Add salt?

Glucose - less sweet than maple syrup.